{"operation":"document","citation":"11-0211","title":"Western Manufacturing Corp. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2011-11-21","effective_on":null,"summary":"11-0211 response to Western Manufacturing Corp. concerning 173.29.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0211.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0211.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0211","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110211.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE\nof Transportation Washington. DC 20590\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration NOV 2 2 2011\nJohn H. Evanski\nPresident\nWestern Manufacturing Corp.\n2476 S. Railroad Ave.\nFresno, CA 93706\nReference No.: 11·0211\nDear Mr. Evanski:\nThis is in response to your August 26, 2011 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) as they pertain to shipments of\nrefurbished propane tanks. You state that a California enforcement agent issued your driver\na warning for prohibited placarding and marking of your empty UN 1075 propane tank\nshipments. You ask if the HMR permits the removal of the relevant hazard communication\n(e.g. markings, placards, etc.) when your propane tank shipments contain only a flammable\ngas residue.\nThe requirements for empty packages in § 173.29 state that empty packages containing the\nresidue of a hazardous material must be offered and transported in the same manner as when\nthey previously contained a greater quantity of the hazardous material unless the packages\nare sufficiently cleaned of residue and purged of vapors to remove any potential hazard, or\nare refilled with a material that is not subject to the HMR to an extent that nullifies any\nhazard.\nThe methods and limits used for determining what qualifies as \"cleaned and purged\" under\nthe HMR will vary depending on the properties of the particular hazardous material and type\nof packaging. In previous interpretations (03-0285 and 00·0117) this office has indicated\nthat a propane cylinder would be considered to be sufficiently cleaned and purged when the\nvapors in the cylinder are no longer capable of sustaining combustion. Our previous\ninterpretation on the meaning of cleaned and purged remains true and any such\ndetermination must be made by the shipper. In the instance you describe, if you determine\nthat the propane tanks have been sufficiently cleaned and purged of vapors to remove any\npotential hazard, the required hazard communication would not need to be displayed.\nI hope this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSenior Regulatory Advisor\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nWESTERN MANUFACTURING CORP.\n2476 S. RAILROAD AVENUE\nFRESNO, CALIFORNIA 93706-5109\nPH. (559) 445-9008 FAX (559) 445-0540\nAugust 18, 2011\nMr. Charles E. Betts\nDirector, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards\nU.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-I0)\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE East Building, 2nd Floor\nWashington, DC 20590\nMC/MX #: 509089\nUS DOT: 1311621\nCA #: 0286094\nCompany: John Evanski Inc. dba Western Mfg. Corp.\nRe: Formal Letter of Interpretation\nMr. Betts:\nOn 8/10/2011 the California ,Highway Patrol Chowchilla River Inspection Facility issued\nour driver a warning stating~,tha,t we were in violation of Section 1'Z2.502(a)(1) and\n172.303(a) because the load on the truck consisted of vacuumed refurbished propane\ntanks that were placarded with 1075.\nWestern Mfg. Corp has been in the propane tank refurbishing business for over 11 years\nand we have operated our own truck since 2005. We haul mostly Hazmat loads that consist\nlargely of used and refurbished propane tanks throughout California as well as interstate.\nWe transport tanks with propane vapor to our location and send them out with a vacuum\nas some of our customers require their propane tanks, once contaminated with oxygen, to\nbe vacuumed (oxygen free). We evacuate the air in the tank to about 24\" to 26\" of mercury\nvacuum.\nWe currently placard all of our :tanks, with or without vacuum, believing they are both\nconsidered Hazmat. The majority. of the ta!1ks that we deal with are ASME 120g to 1150g\npropane tanks. In addition, we have moved small DOT cylinders to larger 20,000g tanks.","truncated":false,"body_characters":3794}